Karam LLC
Thursday, April 05, 2001, one day after the 9/11 Commission Report says the terrorist ringleader finished making withdrawals in Virginia Beach totaling $18,000, Hassan Erroudani, an Orlando man with close ties to the Moroccan Embassy in Washington D.C., filed incorporation papers with the state of Florida listing the President of Karam LLC as a “Mohamed Atta.” The document lists an address for "President" Atta in Marseilles, France, which can be traced to a graphic design firm there. Incorporation documents give the names of the Karam LLC's officers as Hassan Erroudani, Mohamed Atta, and Jamal Erroudani. Karam LLC was then delisted in 2002 by the state of Florida for failing to file an annual report. When the firm filed for reinstatement on January 13, 2003, it once again listed “Mohamed Atta” as a corporate officer. But Atta had now been demoted to Company Secretary. And his address has changed as well. Not to Paradise, or Virgin City, but to 4124 West Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL., the location of an International House of Pancakes. Hassan Erroudani has close ties with the Moroccan Embassy in Washington D.C. He is also the President of the Moroccan-American Chamber of Commerce. Moreover Florida records show Erroudani is also business partners, in a company called JMH Investment Group, with "His Excellency" Mohammed Ariad, the economic counselor of the Moroccan Embassy in Washington D.C. and now ambassador to the republics of Finland and Estonia. Mohamed Atta phoned the Moroccan Embassy in DC on January 2, 2001—for reasons unknown, speaking to persons unknown—a fact buried in the notes of the 9/11 Commission’s report. And Atta bodyguard Marwan Al Shehhi, pilot of the second plane to hit the Twin Towers, had flown to Casablanca, Morocco and back, also for reasons unknown, and visiting person unknown, in early January of 2001. ---- Jamal Erroudani runs/ran 'Unfl LLC' with Chad Jesse Malli according to one database. Chad is the son of Jesse Issa Maali, a Palestinian immigrant who built an Orlando property empire and was linked to terrorism by the government. Jesse's lawyer was Mark NeJame, "the Johnnie Cochran of Orlando." Nejame has represented Lou Pearlman. Jesse Issa Maali died of lung cancer in 2005 aged 59 just as he was about to go on trial in federal court in Orlando on charges of money laundering, failure to pay taxes and hiring undocumented workers. In a 2002 bail hearing, a federal prosecutor had told a judge that she feared Maali might skip bail because he had "alleged ties to Middle Eastern organizations who advocate violence." That assertion and the criminal charges were never proven. The case against Maali was dropped when he died. His gift-shop partner, Mohammed Saleem Khanani (a Pakistani from Karachi), and longtime accountant, David Portlock, were convicted of conspiracy, fraud, tax-evasion and money laundering. For whatever its worth, Mohammed Khanani's wife, Khursheed Saleem Khanani, denied having any connection to a 'Khanani and Kalia International' and announced that they were Memons. Maali was also well-known in Orange County and Orlando political circles and often donated to local political races. Sheriff Kevin Beary said he met Maali in 1996 through an introduction by former Orange County Commissioner Bob Freeman. "He brought Jesse Maali to my office, we did a background check. He did a lot of charitable events, so we made him an honorary deputy," The sheriff said he found out three years later that Maali was the target of an investigation. He said he talked to federal authorities and it was decided Beary would not revoke Maali's honorary badge. ---- 6 January 2003: Three acid bombs exploded Sunday outside the apartment of a friend of an informant in the high-profile federal case of International Drive magnate Jesse Maali, according to Local 6 News. The federal informant in the case against Maali confirmed Sunday that a friend's apartment was targeted over the weekend, according to the report. One of the three acid bombs was packed with nails, he told the Local 6 Problem Solvers. The informant is under federal protection since he was shot at following Maali's arrest last year. And the acid bombs are just the latest in a string of violence connected to the case, Local 6 News reported. Maali Fuad Maali, 22, Jesse Maali's nephew, surrendered on a warrant last week charging him with assaulting the government informant at gunpoint in December. According to court records, Maali Fuad Maali tracked down a friend of the threatened government informant and pointed a gun to his head. Investigators said that Maali told the friend that he had 48 hours to reveal where the informant was hiding. Then, Maali allegedly stole the friend's wallet and reportedly said "now I know where you live," according to the Local 6 News report. Soon after, a package appeared on the friend's doorstep with a note that said, "I told you 48 hours," according to the report. The bomb squad later determined the package was harmless. Maali is now charged with extortion as well as armed robbery in connection with the threats since he allegedly stole the friend's wallet. ---- January 8, 2003: Being named Maali in Orlando lately has been a struggle to live down the stigma once associated with names such as Gotti and Gambino in New York. For the past two months, family members have been linked to thuggery and witness intimidation in the federal immigration and money-laundering case against gift-shop tycoon Jesse Maali. On Tuesday, police said none of the reported violence was true. Key government witnesses made it all up, they said. "My jaw dropped several times today," Orlando police Homicide Sgt. Luis Tanzi said after determining that all six reports made by the two witnesses since Nov. 16 were false. "It's frustrating. We spent a lot of time and effort investigating these cases." "We're not, as the news quotes say, the Sopranos," nephew Husam Maali said during lunch at NYPD Pizza on Orange Avenue. "I'm a regular business guy, just like everybody else." Since November, the 31-year-old owner of two fried chicken stands has been named in federal court as one of his uncle's enforcers. Supporters of Jesse Maali had claimed that the rash of reported shootings and recent acid bombings were pure fantasy -- just as they had damned prosecutors' attempts in November to link him to Middle East violence. The witness-intimidation cases unraveled because of a lack of physical evidence, a lack of witnesses and inconsistencies in the self-described victims' accounts, police said. Those victims, Christian Colburn and John Robert Reedy III, had appeared on local television to tell harrowing stories of their narrow escapes from death. They may face criminal charges for filing false police reports. Jesse Maali's lawyer, Robert A. Leventhal of Orlando, said "These type of allegations do immeasurable damage, and I personally hope that we can all proceed to the true issues of this case and not be distracted by meritless side issues." The revelations freed Maali Fuad Maali, 22, who had been held for three days without bail in the Orange County Jail on charges of terrorizing Reedy, 18, at gunpoint to try to find where Colburn, 22, was hiding. Colburn has been identified by authorities as an informant for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Reached late Tuesday, Colburn claimed he told the truth but wouldn't vouch for his friend. "I don't know what to think anymore. I never thought John would be this stupid," Colburn said. "Now, I'm starting to think he was either really scared or he just made all of this up." Reedy, who had an injunction filed against him by a former girlfriend last summer and was arrested on a shoplifting charge in November, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The attacks had held a double punch because the prosecution twice used the false accounts of Colburn to portray Jesse Maali, 57, and Husam Maali as dangerous men. That motion likely will still stand because it also accused Maali of using land bought with illicit funds as security for his release from jail in November. The government intends to seize the two tracts of land worth more than $2 million. Evidence in the case includes 1,300 boxes of documents and information downloaded from computers seized by the FBI from Maali's chain of Big Bargain World and Sports Dominator shops in Orange and Osceola counties. An inventory of the evidence continues, but lawyers on both sides of the case said the number of documents will exceed the 3 million to 5 million documents seized in a 1999 case against Mid-Florida Freezer warehouses in Port Canaveral. That case was less complex than the Maali case and still took a year to prepare for trial, lawyers said. So far, Maali, 57, of Windermere and five co-defendants have been arrested in the case. Of the six, Saeedullah Awan, 43, of Orange County, a store manager, has pleaded guilty. Khan Aslam, 56, of Orange County, a driver for Big Bargain World, signed an agreement filed in court late Monday that he intends to plead guilty and help the government case. The remaining co-defendants are Khanani, 52, of Orange County's Bay Hill subdivision; accountant David Portlock, 51, of Windermere; and Mahmood Jamal, 48, of Orange County, another store manager. ---- Thursday, May 8, 2003 Man accused of making up threats will not face federal charge: ORLANDO, Fla. - A government informant who, according to authorities, lied about alleged acid-bomb death threats made by the nephew of a Palestinian-American businessman involved in a federal immigration case will not face felony charges. Instead, Christian Colburn, 22, will face one misdemeanor count of making a false statement. Orlando police said Colburn made up stories about the death threats and tried to blame Jesse Maali's nephew, Maali Fuad Maali, for them. Jesse Maali is out on $10 million bond on charges that he hired dozens of illegal immigrants to work in his gift shops and stores in Orlando's tourist district. Colburn is an informant in the case against Jesse Maali. Colburn's ex-roommate, John Robert Reedy, will face felony charges including making false police reports, building and detonating bombs, and conspiracy. Police said Reedy admitted lying about a claim that Maali Fuad Maali threatened him with a gun Dec. 23. "It's unfortunate that Colburn is getting off," said Lt. Anibal Saez, a member of the Orlando Fire Department's bomb and arson squad. "He's going to get a slap on a wrist and he's the core of all the troubles that we had." Maali Fuad Maali cleared in January on charges of robbing Reedy at gunpoint. A judge has dismissed a civil malicious prosecution and defamation suit the nephew filed against Colburn and Reedy. "I don't think they prosecute people to make any point other than that they appear guilty," said Colburn's attorney, Hal Uhrig. "If it's a good case, they prosecute. If it's a crummy case, they drop it." Assistant State Attorney Pam Smith did not return phone calls Wednesday. ---- January 9, 2003 Maali Case Loses Sting Amid Lies, Duplicity: 1 Ex-witness Jailed, 2nd On Lam As Stories About Acid Bombings Unravel: A love triangle linked two young men accused of concocting wild tales of shootings and acid bombings in the federal immigration and money-laundering case against T-shirt tycoon Jesse Maali. One, a high school dropout, sits in the Orange County Jail. The other is still on the run. Their lives during the past two months raise questions about the U.S. government's investigation of Maali and its use of informants to build their case against the Palestinian-American millionaire. "This case was unusual from the start," said Orlando lawyer David Fussell, president-elect of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "The defendant has been able to show the informants were lying, and it points out serious weaknesses in the way we prosecute cases in this county and this district." Maali's nephew spent three days in jail, and other relatives were branded as thugs and drug dealers based on the unfounded allegations from John Robert Reedy III and Christian Colburn. Federal prosecutors declined to comment Wednesday about the two men or the damage they did by duping state and federal investigators. Days before their stories unraveled, Reedy, 18, and Colburn, 22, had been living as well as they ever had, in a $765-a-month apartment in downtown Orlando with wads of cash from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. "I gave John half of what the DEA gave me," Colburn said by telephone Wednesday afternoon, after fleeing Orlando and pending criminal charges. "I made sure I paid for everything so he wouldn't blow it all." The call, from an undisclosed location, was the most recent in a string of at least six separate interviews with the former key government witnesses. Colburn told the Sentinel that he did not lie about anything. He said that the DEA gave him $5,000 cash after authorities in mid-November suspected that members of the Maali family had tried to kill him. According to prosecutors and DEA testimony, Colburn told agents about money laundering, drug dealing and extortion in the Maali family -- accusations that now are seriously tainted. DEA Agent Tim Jones, who testified that he was Colburn's control agent, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Colburn's latest account could not be confirmed by Reedy, who turned down all requests for interviews from his jail cell. He was being held on six charges of building acid bombs and filing false reports, the same charges awaiting Colburn once he is arrested. The pair met through a mutual girlfriend, Tiffany Merritt. "To me, all of this is about John getting me back and whatever he could do to compete against Chris and win," Merritt said Wednesday evening. Reedy dated her first until she dumped him June 7, her 18th birthday, just before he received a court order warning him to stay away from Merritt. In an attempt to win her back, he tattooed a heart with a ribbon and her name on his right shoulder blade. She was not impressed, she said. By summer, Colburn, a car-stereo installer and drug informant, had just begun dating the Publix grocery cashier. Within weeks, the couple had agreed to spend an evening bowling with Reedy, who washed cars and changed engine oil in south Orlando, they said. After the DEA cash started flowing, the three agreed to share the one-bedroom apartment at the new Lincoln at Delaney Square complex on South Street. "When we moved in, we got the bed and John got the couch," Colburn said. "His New Year's resolution was to get more money from the feds and be charged with a felony. I think he was motivated because he saw how much money I got." Colburn said he still stands by his story about the Nov. 16 attempt on his life, and denies coaching Reedy to build acid bombs for any hoax attacks. A media circus has pervaded the case since Maali's Nov. 14 arrest. Within days, routine court hearings became standing-room-only events. Scores of Arab-Americans prayed in the middle of north Hughey Avenue in front of the federal courthouse. The prosecution's failure to link Maali to Middle East violence was seen in legal circles as a public-relations disaster. More embarrassment came Tuesday, when Orlando police concluded Colburn and Reedy lied about attacks against them. They made up a story about Maali's nephew Maali Fuad Maali, 22, holding Reedy at gunpoint, police said. The younger Maali was charged and spent three days in jail. They also fabricated the story about acid-bomb attacks on their apartment, police said. "There was never anyone to dispute what they were saying," said Orlando police Sgt. Luis Tanzi. Investigators recently became suspicious because the men were not acting scared. Another development that drew criticism occurred last week when The Washington Post reported on the case. The story quoted Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins Collazo -- after she twice had filed motions asking the court to restrict defense lawyers from talking to reporters. Despite such gaffes, local lawyers say the underlying case against Jesse Maali still appears very strong. In particular, they noted two of the businessman's co-defendants are ready to testify against him. One veteran Orlando defense lawyer, Cheney Mason, also criticized some recent actions by Maali's defense team. "If I were defending in that case, I'd be keeping my mouth shut," said Mason, who is on the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "I would not be out on the street taunting and ranting and raving and making promises I damn well knew I couldn't deliver." ---- May 8, 2003 Informant Won't Face Felonies In Maali Case: Christian Colburn, 22, Is Still Charged With A Misdemeanor Count Of Making False Claims: A former government informant accused of making up acid-bomb attacks and shootings last year will not stand trial on felony charges. Instead, Christian Colburn, 22, will face one misdemeanor count of making a false statement after a state prosecutor recently decided there was not enough evidence to justify the more-serious charges. John Robert Reedy III, Colburn's ex-roommate, however, will still face several felony charges. Colburn is a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration informant whose information was used in the pending federal immigration and money-laundering case against Palestinian-American millionaire Jesse Maali. Before his arrest in February, Colburn told reporters he had been on the run because he is innocent. At least one law-enforcement investigator thinks Colburn should face the same charges as Reedy. "It's unfortunate that Colburn is getting off," said Lt. Anibal Saez, a member of the Orlando Fire Department's bomb and arson squad. "He's going to get a slap on a wrist, and he's the core of all the troubles that we had." Hal Uhrig, Colburn's attorney, defended his client and said police initially wanted "to load up on my client." Uhrig also said he does not believe Colburn is walking away scot-free while Reedy faces the bulk of felony charges, which include making false reports and throwing a destructive device. "I don't think they make a guy fall for anybody. I don't think they prosecute people to make any point other than that they appear guilty," Ulrig said. "If it's a good case, they prosecute. If it's a crummy case, they drop it." Assistant State Attorney Pam Smith, who is prosecuting both Orange County residents, did not return phone calls. "The only thing we think we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt is a misdemeanor," said Randy Means, a spokesman for the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office. Between November and early January, Orlando police and firefighters responded to six incidents where the alleged victims -- Colburn and Reedy -- claimed that members of the Maali family shot at them, lobbed acid bombs onto their balcony, left a suspicious box at their doorstep and robbed one of them at gunpoint. Investigators said the pair made it all up. According to police reports, Reedy incriminated himself shortly before his arrest Jan. 7, when he was about to take a lie-detector test at police headquarters. Reedy, who could not be reached Wednesday, said he and Colburn had "conspired" to make false statements, according to a police report. Sgt. Luis Tanzi of the homicide unit said police still stand by their account that Colburn and Reedy lied. In all the cases, investigators became suspicious because they did not find enough physical evidence or eyewitnesses, and because of inconsistencies in the victims' statements and demeanour. "We haven't had anything to disprove that since then," Tanzi said. ---- June 17, 2003 Case Against Informant Is Dropped: A former DEA informant on Monday was free of a charge that he lied to police about a suspicious package left at his home that he blamed on relatives of Palestinian-American businessman Jesse Maali. mProsecutors with the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office dropped the misdemeanor charge of providing false information in writing against Christian Colburn, 22, after a judge noted they had applied the wrong statute and used an incorrect date on the complaint. Before withdrawing the charge, Assistant State Attorneys Ashish Airan and Kendall Horween asked Orange County Judge Carolyn Freeman for guidance. "This client may be guilty of something, but not of this statute, Mr. Airan," Freeman said. Prosecutors agreed nothing was false about Colburn's statement -- a "suspicious" package was found on his doorstep -- but said in court they think he planted it. After Maali's arrest last November, Colburn and Reedy, 19, reported being shot at twice. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration paid Colburn relocation money and the pair began sharing an apartment. By early January, investigators concluded the roommates had made up their stories. Police charged them with six counts each of giving false information to police and possession of explosive devices, authorities said. However, the counts against Colburn were consolidated into a single misdemeanor last April. Reedy awaits trial on the original counts. Hal Uhrig, Colburn's lawyer, said Monday's action reinforces his argument that "overzealous law enforcement" tried to prosecute at all costs. ---- Maali Fuad Maali was declared bankrupt in 2011. ---- The federal government has been focusing its investigation on Maali's charitable giving. The government is interested in Maali's many wire transfers and overseas accounts worth millions. Last month, before a federal magistrate freed Maali on a $10 million bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins Collazo said Maali had "financial ties to Middle Eastern groups that advocate violence." On Friday, Collazo said court rules prevented her from elaborating on the arguments she made at Maali's bond hearing. "All I can say is, it still is being investigated," the prosecutor said in reference to the alleged terrorism ties. In court last month, the prosecutor questioned donations of $50,000 by Maali to an established secular Palestinian charity that has accounts at a terrorist-controlled Palestinian bank. Collazo also tried to link a $30,000 bank deposit by Maali and another Palestinian American to the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In addition, agents testified about a package sent from Maali's office to the al-Qaida-linked Benevolence International Foundation and about donations to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief & Development. Attorney General John Ashcroft this week called the Holy Land Foundation the "North American front for Hamas," a Palestinian political and terrorist group. Maali said he donated a total of about $5,000 to the Holy Land Foundation through 2000, a year before the government shut it down because of suspected links to terrorists. Maali said he is still shocked by government attempts to link his financial transactions to the terrorist group Hamas. "The only way to reach a peaceful solution is through dialogue,'' Maali said. "With violence, we don't have a chance, and there will be more pain and suffering for Palestinian people."'' ---- There was at least one "open" noteworthy link in the case, though it received little public notice. This was Professor Hussam Abujbara. Abujbara was a longtime associate of Sami Al-Arian and helped Al-Arian establish the Islamic Concern Project, a front for support activities on behalf of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), in Tampa in the late 1980s. Abujbara later moved to Orlando where, for a time, he worked for Jesse Maali's organization before eventually going to work as a computer science instructor (same as Al-Arian) at the University of Central Florida. Abujbara was subsequently convicted of felony immigration fraud and then deported circa 2004. Abujbara's linkage to radical Islamists did not end with the Al-Arian crew, but extended to individuals with direct connections to the Holy Land Foundation, the alleged Hamas-support charity front now awaiting a trial verdict in Dallas, as well as others. ---- "My client played no part in any kind of threat against any witnesses whatsoever," Orlando lawyer F. Wesley "Buck" Blankner Jr. said Monday "And he has done nothing to terrorize or attempt to rob anybody." Since the assault Dec. 23, six suspicious incidents have left the witness' friend and neighbors at the Lincoln at Delaney Square apartments in Orlando on edge. At least two involved bottles filled with acid that exploded after being thrown at the friend's apartment. "Specifically, Agent Thomas testified that Husam Maali was a street enforcer for Jesse Maali and his family, and that Husam Maali and his group includes Esam Maali and Maali Maali are involved in drug dealing, extortion, and money laundering," Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins Collazo wrote. Husam and Esam are also nephews of Jesse Maali.Bail for Jesse Maali was originally set at $5 million cash until a judge allowed him to substitute land. Collazo wrote that she wants the cash requirement reinstated. ---- Maali accomplice Tyrone Nabbie spent four years serving in executive roles for Carnival Cruise Lines-owned hotels, resorts, and casinos in the Bahamas. In 1993, he moved on to take a position as General Manager and joint venture partner for the Fine Host Corporation, followed by a post as Managing Partner of Orange County Food Service Partners, doing business as Levy Restaurants. In both of these positions, which he held for a total of 15 years, he managed the food service operations of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Tyrone Nabbie first went into business for himself in 1997, as the President of Superior Hospitality Management, LLC, based in Orlando, Florida. The company handles food service operations for a number of government facilities throughout the state. He started MCO Enterprises, L.C., where he serves as Managing Partner, in 1999. MCO runs the Coco Oasis Bar & Lounge inside the Orlando International Airport. In 2002, Tyrone Nabbie started NabDash, Ltd., which operates the Kafe Kalik Express restaurant in the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport. A year later, he opened an Outback Steakhouse franchise in Nassau, the Bahamas. He founded Preferred Choice Restaurants, LLC in 2007, and serves as Managing Partner. The company operates Kafe Kalik in the Orlando Premium Outlets. Most recently, Tyrone Nabbie began LPI Concessions, Ltd., in Nassau, the Bahamas. He serves as President of the company, which owns the Bahama Dutch Oven and a Kafe Kalik location in Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau. In addition to his success as a restaurateur, he is also skilled in brokering partnerships both in business and in the communities that his companies serve. ---- Tyrone Nabbieâ€™s first experience in an executive role in the hospitality industry was with Carnival Cruise Linesâ€™ Riviera Towers in Nassau, the Bahamas. Starting in 1989, he served as the Executive Director of Food and Beverage, and a year later accepted the role of Vice President of Food and Beverage for the companys Crystal Palace Resort and Casino. In these roles, Tyrone Nabbie was responsible for overseeing operations at 14 restaurants, 23 beverage facilities, 2 nightclubs, and a convention center. He was also responsible for training the management team, which consisted of 90 managers and 5 directors. In 1993, Tyrone Nabbie accepted a position as General Manager and joint venture partner with the Fine Host Corporation in Orlando, Florida. At the time, the Fine Host Corporation handled the food and beverage accounts for the Orange County Convention Center, the sixth largest convention center in the nation. In 1997, Tyrone Nabbie began serving as President of Superior Hospitality Management, LLC. A food and beverage management company, Superior Hospitality Management has joint ventures and partnerships with a number of government facilities throughout the state of Florida. From 1999 to the present, Tyrone Nabbie has operated a series of companies that operate and manage food service kiosks and restaurants in airports. The oldest is MCO Enterprises, L.C., for which he serves as Managing Partner. A second, similar venture began in 2002 under the name NabDash, Ltd., which runs Kafe Kalik Express in the Grand Bahama Airport in Freeport. In 2009, he started LPI Concessions Ltd., where he functions as President. LPI Concessions operates two restaurants in the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, the Bahamas. Mr. Nabbie also owns an Outback Steakhouse franchise in Nassau, the Bahamas, and serves as Managing Partner of Preferred Choice Restaurants, LLC, which operates a Kafe Kalik location in the Orlando Premium Outlets. ---- MAALI, JESSE ISSA, 59 of Orlando passed away Saturday, January 22, 2005. Mr. Maali was a member of the Masjad Al Noor and a member of the Arab-American Community Center. Born in Jerusalem, he moved to Central Florida from NJ in 1986. He was an entrepreneur and a business owner in the hotel and restaurant industry He is survived by his wife, Jihad; and parents, Musa and Jameleh Maali of Orlando; Sons, Basset of Winter Garden, Chad of Orlando and Saad of Windermere; daughters, Manar Maali of Orlando and Randa Itani of Titusville; brothers, Amer Maali of Winter Garden and Amjad Maali of Orlando; sister, Sara Hussein of Winter Garden; nine grandchildren. ---- March 10, 2009: The IRS wants millions of dollars from the estate of Jesse Maali, the International Drive tycoon who died four years ago amid a controversial criminal prosecution. Documents recently filed in federal and Orange County court states the Internal Revenue Service wants more than $3 million from Maali's estate from unpaid tax liabilities from 1998 to 2002. ---- Relatives of Jesse Maali, the late International Drive gift-shop mogul, are suing the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority over a 2007 restaurants contract at Orlando International Airport, charging that airport officials steered the 15-year, $300 million deal away from them. ---- Hal Uhrig recently featured prominently in the Zimmerman case. Uhrig's career began at the Gainesville, Florida, police department, where he worked full-time while attending law school at the University of Florida in the early 1970s. He was a sergeant by the time he earned his law degree in 1974. Uhrig served as general counsel and legal adviser to the Orange County Sheriff's Office for four years, and as a police legal adviser to 10 central Florida law enforcement agencies. He then moved to the Florida attorney general's office, where he prosecuted cases in the RICO and organized crime section in 1980. He later served as a public defender in the 9th Judicial Circuit and joined the law firm of Cotter, Uhrig and Valerino, near Orlando. His profile also notes that Uhrig was lead counsel in the nation's first four trials involving DNA evidence and attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Since 1990 he has been the managing member of The Defense Group PLC. ---- Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins Collazo angled to get convicted smuggler Robert Castoro out of prison early, in 1998. He had become a government informant. He once testified against people being represented by Richard Ben-Veniste. Castoro had been indicted with Christian Esquino (real name Christian Eduardo Esquino-Nunez). Esquino would go on to be involved with the Jenni Rivera crash in 2012. He also lent planes to Jorge Hank-Rhon. He also got involved in a smuggling plot involving Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi’s son. He may also be connected to Jasper "Jay" Knabb. Category:All Category:Conspiracies